Port Coquitlam’s Riverside Rapids head into Wednesday’s (March 2) opening day of the provincial girls high school basketball championships as the tournament’s top seed.
But they’re not feeling any pressure.
Rapids’ coach Paul Langford said his girls are just glad to be there.
In fact, after losing last season to the COVID-19 pandemic and navigating this season through the ever-changing public health restrictions, as well as an outbreak of the viral infection that swept through the team, they’re just glad to be anywhere.
Especially in the gym.
“We had different lineups and inconsistent practice,” Langford said. “The team has adapted well.”
That would be an understatement.
The Rapids have been atop the provincial AAAA rankings since they defeated the crosstown Terry Fox Ravens in the championship final of the Tsumura Invitational tournament at the Langley Events Centre (LEC) last Dec. 18.
The team then reprised that win with an 86–79 victory over the Ravens in Fraser North district championship game on Feb. 18.
Riverside Secondary prevails in the all-Port Coquitlam final at the 2021 Sr. Girls Tsumura Basketball Invitational 🏀🏆 The #6 provincially-ranked Rapids topple the #1 Ravens by a score of 90-79 in Langley | #TBI2021 #PortCoquitlam @TriCityNews pic.twitter.com/JFHOQY6aXm
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) December 19, 2021
In the two months in between, the Rapids had to evolve their game with limited opponents as tournament play was banned by public health restrictions from late December to mid-February.
Langford said that’s been a mixed blessing.
While the Rapids head into provincials without an on-court gauge of where they stand against many opponents, all teams are in the same boat, he said.
And schools were diligent about making video streams of games available online when spectators were banned from gyms through most of the season.
“There’s more film of teams than we have ever had,” Langford said of his video preparation.
The lack of tournament play has also allowed some of Riverside’s younger players, like freshman Jorja Hart and sophomore Avery Sussex, to develop away from the spotlight that often comes with long bus trips and packed gymnasiums.
They’ll provide capable support for the team’s veteran core that includes seniors Venica Davignon and Brooke Kendall, along with juniors Nicole Hughes, Alexis Hart and Natalie Curley.
The Ravens head to Langley ranked third in the province.
The team is largely the same one that went to the AAAA final in 2020 where it was over-matched by Surrey’s Semiahmoo Thunderbirds.
But most of the girls were in Grade 10, going against a side comprised mostly of bigger, stronger juniors that had won 57 games in a row against opponents from British Columbia.
Now, the Ravens core of Cerys Merton, Lauren Clements and Taylor Matthews are seniors and they’re hungry to write the final chapter for a group that had gone undefeated on its way to the Grade 9 championship in 2019.
Joining the Rapids and Ravens in Langley will be the Heritage Woods Kodiaks that finished third in the North Fraser District.
Coach Ross Tomlinson said his team showed a lot of resilience as players dealt with COVID outbreaks, missed games and practices and the echoes of empty gyms. At one point, things got so dour, the Kodiaks had only six players available for a game.
Still, Heritage Woods finished the season with 14 wins and 11 losses overall and dominated Burnaby North 85-38 in the third-place game at Fraser North finals.
Senior guard Haley Hughes leads the Kodiaks’ offence. She averaged 18 points and nine rebounds a game.
Fellow seniors Rebecca Green and Jenny Lee each chipped in nine points a game while Mckenna Clough, Raeann Bettles, Josie Latifpout and Kate Means provided capable support.
Riverside opens the championship tournament Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. against 16th-seed Belmont. Fox plays 14th-seed West Vancouver at 5:15 p.m. and 12th-seed Heritage Woods tips off against fifth-ranked Sir Winston Churchill at 1:45 p.m. All games are on the south court at the LEC.
CENTENNIAL WINS DISTRICT BOYS' FINAL
Centennial Centaurs defeated the Terry Fox Ravens 73–65 Sunday at the Langley Events Centre to win the Fraser North District senior boys basketball championship.
It was an unexpected turn for the Centaurs after they shocked the previously undefeated Burnaby South Rebels, 69–62, in the semifinals last Friday.
Centennial, Fox, Burnaby South and Burnaby Mountain all quality for the boys’ AAAA provincial championship tournament that runs March 9 to 12 at the LEC. South defeated Mountain 100–55 in the district’s third-place game.
YOUR FRASER NORTH BOYS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS!!! GO CENTAURS! pic.twitter.com/6agJKmQ78U
— Centaur Athletics (@Centaurathletic) February 28, 2022
